Its finally my turn. 82 xj 550 project

I am new to this form but I have been lurking quite a bit, but now that a I have started my project I thought that I should post it on here.
I picked up a 1982 xj550 for $350, it was running but not very well and would not idle.


after I got it running again I started working on repainting the tank and removing extra parts that I did not want on the bike anymore.


now I just shortened the frame and made a spacers to replace the rear suspension.

This is how the bike sits now. I will try and keep my regular progress up to date, but if anyone sees anything problematic and has any ideas or comments feel free to criticize this is my first time rebuilding a bike. Any helpful tips or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
thanks for looking.

 

Bike is looking good so far. I would cover those intake manifolds with something though. You don't want any of that dirt on the floor kicked up into the engine. Definitely keep us posted on your build with lots of pics. We love pics.

 

I finally had a chance to work on the bike a little more this weekend i got the carbs put back in and painted the tank.

here is a close up of the tank

The only problem that I have discovered so far is that now that the bike is running again I can get it to idle good until I rev it up and it stays high until I put it in gear and force it down again. i have been reading and it seems like it may be a vac leak but I am not sure so if you have any helpful tips on finding or fixing the idle problem i would greatly appreciate it

 

welcome to our home! I'm sure you're gonna be here a loooong loooong time

dave fox

 

I like the paint job, very cool

 

Hanging idle is generally a sync issue; however you need to verify the float levels using fuel and clear tubing, and be sure the valves are in spec; BEFORE you can begin to worry about doing a vacuum sync.

Have you had the rear wheel off yet, to inspect the rear brake shoes for signs of delamination?

 

I have only bench synced the carbs so far and that seemed to help a little, and I plan on checking the valves in a week or so when i have time. I did repair some of the intake boots because they where in very bad shape and that seemed to help fix it also.

I have not taken the rear wheel off yet to check the brakes (but i have used it and it works well) I am not very familiar with drum breaks so i have been putting that off.

The valves and rear brake are the next major things that I plan on working on.

 

More progress

I havnt had a chance to up date lately but i have made alot of progress in the last few weeks. I made a seat pan and also a taillight mount here are the photos. let me know what you think and as always any criticism is always welcome.

 

Hey man, nice work there, I especially like that tail light, really gives it some Class to say the least. Also, by the way, welcome aboard! If the guys in here can't help you solve a problem with your bike then your in real deep trouble to say the least. I have been following there replys to problems on these bike for awhile now and there seem to always be right on the mark as to say. To me it appears that the guys here really are here to help all and really have put some serious time into these machines, therefore truly knowing what they are talking about. A Rare opportunity for all that participate here in my opinion. grunt007, 81, XJ 750 Seca R, Mi.

 

those struts look scary. are the mounting holes slugged? the wall thickness looks to be thin enough that they may slot themselves with hard riding or tear out. Either weld in some slug tubes or shop press the ends flat together and weld the ends shut.

 

Nice work!